Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepless child
I was just thinking after watching the Ellen performance. Why did they feel the need to get two people to replace Lindsey? When Christine retired they didn't fill her spot. The focus was then on Lindsey and Stevie songs. They did Don't stop and just sang her parts.
Why didn't they do the same thing with Lindsey's firing? They could have just hired Mike Campbell and not Neil Finn. Do all Chris and Stevie songs except for Go Your Own Way and have the girls sing it.
Mike is a great guitarist, but his sound is so different from Lindsey's. Neil is a fine singer, but not much stage presence with the Mac and frankly, you don't really need a male singer. Chris and Stevie have the bulk of the hits.
They could have also added a male backup singer to flesh things out.
After watching the Ellen performance, it just doesn't work. The Billy/Rick years were ok, but that was then. Just my 2 cents.
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The answer is simple. Keyboard players are generally optional in the official line-up of a band - F Mac didn't have one initially apart from Jeremy's piano bits.
Guitarists are not optional. Rock bands without them are very much in a minority (I can only think of Keane). Fleetwood Mac has always relied on having at least one guitarist in its official membership. With a legacy of strong players (and I don't just mean Peter and Lindsey) it would be a cowardly option to just get sidesmen to do it all out of the spotlight.
Personally I think they should have responded to Stevie's "I'm not recording as the only woman again" ultimatum by recruiting Sandy Stewart but there you go.